First Opening

In 1919, the library was founded, designed and built in San Marino, California, and completed in 1920. Before the San Marino library was built, Huntington lived in a mansion in New York City, where he had his private library and collected books, art, plants and rare manuscripts, while the San Marino building was being constructed. Since the library, in New York, was Huntington's private library inside his mansion, it was not open to the public. Huntington read his books in the "library room". The library was meant for Huntington's own intellectual development. In addition, Huntington wanted to read the books in its original form. It appears that Huntington was interested in bookmaking, and the aesthetics of making a book, including book binding. In the beginning, Huntington's library had very limited access in New York, and in San Marino. Huntington's collection was often listed in the newspaper, and Huntington was known as a great collector, which inspired scholars to ask him if they could look at items in his collection. Huntington agreed to let scholars view his materials, and was interested in their research conclusions. Since more scholars were asking him to view the library, Huntington allowed his library collection to be visited on a registration basis. Only scholars could view collections while Huntington was present. Therefore, for Huntington the library was considered a private reading room library. For scholars, it was a research library. Only after Huntington's death did the library become open and available to the public. However, Huntington and his second wife, Arabella, only wanted the library to serve as a research institution for scholars. According to Peggy Park Bernal’s book The Huntington: Library, Art Collections, Botanical Gardens, the library officially opened to scholars in 1925 and about fifty scholars used the collections over the course of one year (p. 15). It appears that after the library was opened to the public more researchers were able to view the materials. The main purpose of the institution is to provide the advancement of learning.

Building Construction and Facilities

The Huntington in New York City, New York

The first Huntington private library was located in New York City at Huntington's mansion on 57th Street and 5th Avenue. To the side is a picture of Huntington in his New York library.


The library staff worked in portions of the Huntington house in New York, during the transition of the library to San Marino, California, helping to pack all the items and get them ready for shipment. The early Huntington Library building, in New York, included a “service wing” which held the “book room,” where boxes of books were received, unpacked for checking and listing, and later repacked for shipment to California (Schad, p.19). There was a “billard room” that was converted into the “catalogue room”  which was a temporary clearing house for accessions (Schad, p.20). The staff consisted of twelve people and they all occupied the catalogue room. Inside the catalogue room included the reference collection. The library was located on the third floor, which was directly over the catalogue room, and like the catalogue room, was a very long room. The library consisted of a fireplace, high bookcases, and to the rear of the library was a double desk. Huntington and his private secretary George D. Hapgood both occupied the double desk (Schad p. 27). This was considered the headquarters, that was used for business conferences about books. For instance, in he library room, was where Huntington spoke to dealers about possible book auctions.

The Huntington in San Marino, California

Huntington fell in love with Southern California, and visited for eight years. After his rich uncle, Collis, died in 1900, he relocated to Los Angeles, even though his primary residence was in New York City. In 1903, he bought the Shorb ranch (in San Marino) and nearby properties which equaled 800 acres. He replaced the Victorian ranch house with a mansion. Huntington worked with an architect by the name of Myron Hunt, and together they planned, designed and constructed the house, completing it in 1910 (Zeidburg, p.9). Huntington's concept would be that he would live around a library. He wanted a residence that would be able to house all of his library collections. Huntington collected from 1911 to 1914, and sent 50,000 books to San Marino because the New York residence was full of books and art items. By 1915, both houses were full of rare items. In 1916, Huntington announced publicly that he was going to relocate his entire library to San Marino. So, Huntington began his collecting in New York city, and in San Marino, with the latter being the permanent location for the library.


First, the Huntington house was built, and next, in 1919,  the construction of the library began, and was completed in 1920.Huntington chose Southern California, because he believed that the region would become a "major commercial and cultural center...he wanted his collections to form the foundation of a collection-based research and education institution" (Zeidburg, p.16).  So, the first library was located in New York City, because Huntington began purchasing books and having them shipped to his New York mansion. Huntington moved his library from New York City to California in 1920. Below is a picture of the Huntington Library building, in 1922.

Huntington kept purchasing more rare books and manuscripts, so his collection grew large. One can question, how Huntington decided what to include in his collection? (for librarians, a selection policy). From the book The Huntington Library: Treasures from Ten Countries, David Zeidberg notes that Huntington's collections had a focus, or Huntington had a particular interest and collected based on his interest, which was "the history of the English-speaking peoples" (p. 9). From 1910 to his death in 1927, Huntington was known to have collected rare books and manuscripts, in which he acquired more than 200 entire libraries, forming the Library's research collection (Zeidberg, p. 9).


Construction of the library began in 1919, and was completed in 1920. 

Staff and Operation

Huntington's Library Staff (1924)

Most of his staff appear to be men in the above picture, although librarianship became a growing occupation for women (Huntington).

Huntington Library Catalogers of Manuscripts, 1938

In the above picture are two women cataloging manuscripts in the library building (Huntington).

Staff

Huntington's private library had a very limited staff, because it was not available to the public. There was no need for library assistants, pages, or circulation staff because books would never leave the building. Instead, scholars would visit the library to conduct their research. Behind the scenes, it took a team of many librarians, who were familiar with cataloging and bibliography to record everything that Huntington had purchased for his collection. Therefore, Huntington's librarians were researching his collection.  The following people were part of the Huntington's library staff/or the operation of collecting books when it was built in 1920.


Head Librarian- George Watson Cole

Huntington had assembled a staff in New York a few years earlier than 1919, in which George Watson Cole was head of the library. When Huntington decided to combine his collection and move to San Marino, California, George Watson Cole relocated to California with his family. Cole is considered the Huntington Library's first librarian in San Marino. Cole was hired directly by Huntington to be the main librarian at the Huntington house. He was known as one of the most productive bibliographers at work in America during the first quarter of the twentieth century (Angelenas). Huntington purchased many books, but did not know exactly everything he had in his collection. It was important for the catalogers to account for everything in his collection. By 1915, Cole was 65 years old, and he was recruited by Huntington, to be the librarian of the Huntington Library. He remained in the librarian positioni from 1915 to 1924. His duties were to
organize the staff , established the principles and methodology for cataloging and administer the library. The main duties for staff would be to catalog all the thousands of books that Huntington had
purchased. The objective was to move the library collection from Huntington's New York mansion, to his new library building in San Marino. Huntington hired 8 other librarians to help with cataloging, but Cole was the main librarian who supervised the movement of the collection.

George Watson Cole was born at Warren, Conn, in 1850, and his early education was in a public school in Andover, Mass. According to Steven Litwack and Peter Sargent's Guide to the George Watson Cole Papers,  George Cole was a school teacher from 1872-1876, which in his off time he spent preparing for the bar, and was admitted in 1876. Cole practiced law from 1876 to 1885, then decided to end his law career and focus on library work. From 1885 to 1886, Cole compiled the Classified Catalogue of the Fitchburg Public Library, and in 1886 he became Librarian of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (Litwack, p. 4) He joined the board of his local library and helped to produce a 50 page catalog of its holdings. Cole met Melvil Dewey, who was the chief librarian of Columbia College in New York and the creator of the Dewey decimal system for book classification. Cole attended Dewey's new School of Library Economy at Columbia college, and graduated in 1888. His jobs included working as an assistant at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Ill., library director of the Jersey City Public Library, from 1891-1895 and worked on compiling bibliographies. Due to illness, Cole resigned from his job as Librarian and began to travel. On his return he became interested in bibliography. In 1901, Cole complied an extensive and valuable collection of American and English Literature in the Library of E. Dwight Church, of Brooklyn. Cole had wrote an outstanding bibliographical work, a series of annotated catalogs including seven volumes, containing 3,789 pages with 1,755 facsimiles of title pages, colophon and other features (Litwack, p.4).


 After this work, in 1915, Cole was approached by Huntington with the position to be his main librarian for his New York collection. Cole continued to hold his position as librarian when the transition of the collection from New York to California was made. . Of course, Huntington could afford to purchase the best rare books, so his staff had to be well educated.  With this work, Cole achieved fame and was considered to be the best analytical descriptions of books published in both America and Europe. In 1924, Cole retired from librarianship, and became Librarian Emeritus. In 1939, Cole died.


A bibliographer is an interesting career, because they have to understand the content of the works and their relation to other works in the library collection. The main function of a bibliographer is to catalog works, in which they review and create indexes for the works. Another function of a bibliographer is to help with the selection of items, based on the field of interest. A bibliographer can help a make decisions when considering purchasing an item, based on the library budget or patron's needs (). In this case, the future scholars could be the audience that Huntington would anticipate when purchasing items for his collection. Although it appears that Huntington collected what he liked, more than what was needed for others. In addition, there was no budget to consider, because Huntington was wealthy. However, by having a bibliographer librarian, Huntington could obtain purchasing advice for potential purchases. This is helpful because Huntington could be purchasing items that are not worth the money he is spending. How would Huntington know the quality was correct?


Therefore, Cole had many occupations, beginning with teacher, to lawyer, and lastly, to a librarian, who specialized in writing bibliographic essays, and bibliographic research. This is interesting, because writing bibliographies can take many years to accomplish, which is similar to the scribes of the Middle Ages. Bibliographers compile detailed lists of books and manuscripts, but this information is not widely used by the public. This notion, makes me appreciate the index and bibliography page at the end of every book. It is important information, that most people do not even recognize. Cole devoted his life to bibliographic research.


Bibliographer and Finance Advisor- Leslie E. Bliss


Leslie E. Bliss is a bibliographer librarian, who worked as part of Huntington's staff in 1915. After Cole, Bliss succeeded the role of head librarian in 1926. Huntington moved Cole and Bliss's family from New York to San Marino. He built houses for them, and allowed them to start working on unpacking, shelving and cataloging the collections (Zeidburg, p. 15). Bliss's main role was to mediate between Huntington and bookseller Rosenbach concerning finance questions. Many times there were mishaps with purchasing items that were not as described, for instance in a letter from Bliss to Rosenbach: “On a careful examination of this copy [a Third Folio Shakespeare] we find that A1 of the text…has been supplied from a copy of the second edition. Mr. Huntington has asked me to write you relative to a return of this copy in exchange for a credit memorandum” (Rosenbach).
 Therefore, Bliss was able to detect that the copy Huntington was purchasing was not the original.This goes to show us that Huntington did not have the educational background to distinguish the good books from the bad ones. Huntington is a book collector, and as a book collector there are many factors to consider. By teaming up with Cole and Bliss, Huntington matured as a book collector.


Rare Book Dealer- Dr. A.S.W Rosenbach


While it was Bliss's job was to watch finances carefully, another man by the name of Dr. A.S.W Rosenbach was responsible for bidding on books for Huntington in an auciton. Dr. Rosenbach was known as a dealer in books, manuscripts, and fine art; along with his brother, they helped to develop private libraries by acting as dealers in an auction for rare books. He was known as the most famous dealer in rare books and manuscripts in the first half of the 20th century. He made the idea of book collecting of American literature popular, and advanced the idea of book collecting as a means of investment (Rosenbach Wiki). Dr. Rosenbach acted as Huntington's agent in many purchases in Europe, although Rosenbach did have other collectors as clients.  Surprisingly, for a wealthy man, there was a budget line for Huntington. He advised Bliss to have Rosenbach purchase books at a reasonable price, or a cheap price. In Bliss's letter to Rosenbach, he states "...if you can get them cheap and only if you can get them cheap, buy the following...of course when I say bid these in for us i do not mean to enter into any crazy competition with an unlimited bidder, but we do want these items" (Rosenbach, p. 1).  Huntington had money, but he did not want to pay high prices for his books. In addition, he advised Rosenbach to look each item over before bidding and pay reasonable prices.


New York Book Dealer- George D. Smith

In Robert O. Schad's article Henry Edwards Huntington: The Founder and the Library, George D. Smith is described as one of the most interesting figures in the book world. George D. Smith was born in Brooklyn in 1870, and grew up as a poor child. At age thirteen, he worked for Dodd Mead & Company, and while in his teens and without any money, he dreamed of being a big bookseller. In 1895, he opened a book shop with little shop and less money. For several years he struggled, but eventually began to pull through. Smith is known to have dominated the rare-book market. He was represented at every important sale in this country and was a large buyer of genuine rarities than all other booksellers and collectors combined. In John Allan Holden's book A list of private book collectors in the United States, he traces the history of booksellers and book collectors, and notes that Smith purchsed  83 items from the Britwell Court Library in 1919, he became well known in the rare book circles in England. He knew little about contents of books and probably cared less, but his experience had given him a knowledge of the rarity and value of books accurate to a remarkable degree and his courage was in buying (Schad, p. 14). Loyalty to his patrons, and ineffectiveness of manner were traits attractive to Mr. Huntington, who trusted Smith’s judgment of book prices and valued his advice. Huntington, therefore, employed Smith more often than any other agent, and "entrusted him with the negotiations preceding the majority of his important purchases" (Schad, p. 14). He was known to buy more collections than an one else. Smith's clients were collectors, like Huntington.

This is interesting, because Huntington is purchasing books that he knows nothing about, and needs someone who is an expert in the value of the collection. This can be considered acquisitions, because they have to know the value and worth of books, and how they fit into Huntington’s already existing collection. Therefore, Huntington hired Smith because he was an expert in identifying the authenticity of books in England.

Art Dealer


Huntington was a book collector, as well as a art collector. Just as Dr. A.S.W Rosenback was a book dealer, Joseph Duveen was a British art dealer, who started his buisness with his brother. The Duveen Brothers were successful as traders of antiques. They became know as the best art dealers for European art in America. Duveen began the buisenss as purchasing works of art from European aristocrats and selling them to millionaires in the United States (Behrman). Huntington was one of Duveen's clients, including other milliner names such as J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockerfeller. For many Americans, who made new money without a noble title, the purchasing of art was one way that they could show their status as wealthy class. To own works by European aristocrats was like buying a noble status.


Therefore, Huntington began as a small collector of books, but he grew into a sophisticated collector of rare material of international importance when he began to do business with the best dealers in New York and Philadelphia, and learned more about collecting (Thorpe, p.22). The fact that Huntington enjoyed collecting books, meant that his collection was growing larger, which required the need for more staff workers, and for architects to expand and recreate his library space. Schad notes this idea in his article "the intensity of Me. Huntington's activities as a collector during the next five years results in the staff becoming, temporarily, an adjunct to his buying campaign" (p. 18).


Trustees

Henry Huntington made careful plans for the use of his collections after his death. In 1919 he and

Arabella signed a deed of trust transferring their San Marino property and collections to a nonprofit trust and establishing a research institution to serve scholars. The five original trustees were George S. Patton, George Ellery Hale, Henry’s son, Howard E. Huntington, Arabella’s son, Archer M.

Huntington; and their attorney William E. Dunn (Page, p.2).

George Ellery Hale

• Huntington's first trustee
• Previous occupation: astronomer and director of the Carnegie Observatory
• Believed that the library would become an institution of real international importance (Zeidburg, p.16). 
• Fourteen months after this speech, the scientist's lobbying finally paid off; Huntington informed Hale of his plans to establish the library in San Marino and asked the astronomer to be one of the trustees.

Hale can be considered a founder of the Huntington library, because he influenced Huntington to see his vision of the library as an educational institution. With his observation, he helped define the future of the library. From Hale, Huntington took the idea that he could build a research center, and made it happen.

Director of Research


Max Farrand

• A distinguished historian
• Appointed the first director of research, by Huntington, before Huntington's death. 
• Manager of Huntington's legacy. 
• Opened the institution to the public and provided parking spaces and restrooms. In this way, many more people could visit the library. 
• Brought famous American historian Fredrick Jackson 
  

Resident Scholar

Fredrick Jackson Turner

• Famous American historian of the early 20th century.
• Wrote the essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History"
• First visiting resident scholar for the Huntington Library
•  Gained a PH.D in history from Johns Hopkins University in 1890
• Was a professor of history at Wisconsin (1890-1910, and Harvard (1911-1924).
•  Did not publish many books, but conducted research 
• Had an encyclopedia knowledge of American history
•  Circulated copies of his essays and lectures to important scholars and literary figures
• After university regents demanded less research and more teaching, Turner sought an environment that would support research (Allan). 
• He viewed himself as a research scholar who, like Woodrow Wilson and other friends, would publish major works of history (Allan, p. 22).
  
  
   

The Huntington private library became more accessible to the public after Huntington's death. In 1919, Huntington recounted what he long thought about giving something back to the public before he died. From this, he established a trust, which became the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. In this trust, Huntington gave all his books, manuscripts, art objects, library building, residence, and gardens. He appointed five trustees, and provided guidelines for each, to advance learning in the arts and sciences and to promote public welfare through the use of the library, the art gallery, and the gardens (Thorpe, p. 32).


The purpose of the trustees

Introduction

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is considered an institution that promotes public education and academic research in the arts and sciences fields of study. Henry E. Huntington's vision was to provide an independent collection-based research library that would serve all communities, the entire country and the world in a unique way. In the early 1900s, scholars could view the library's resources for free, but the public was not admitted into the library as freely as they can today. Today, the Huntington is considered to be one of the largest independent research libraries, and a major center for humanistic scholarship and learning in the United States. The library promotes research in three differnt areas: literature, art and science.The botanical gardens reinforce Huntington's educational mission, as well. Just as Huntington collected books, and art objects, he too, collected rare and endangered plants. The plants aspect of the institution allows people to understand science and landscape traditions. The art collection offers educational opportunities to learn about the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through art paintings, sculptures, photographs, and furniture, which will help encourage learning for students of all ages. Therefore, today, the facility is not only for scholars conducting advanced research but for everyday people, who want to learn more, just as Huntington did. The purpose of the Huntington library is to work with universities, colleges, school districts, and teachers to help strengthen educational activities.In Huntington's 1925 revision to the deed of trust, he states that "the object of the instritution is the advancement of learning [in] the arts and sciences...to render the books, manuscripts, and other contents avaliable...to scholars and other persons engaged in research or creative work in histoty, literature, art, science, and kindered subjects...and to prosecute and encourage study and research in original souces" (Bernal, p.15-16).  Huntington is the founder of the library who believed that, after his death, his library would be a research facility for students.

Users of the Library

Huntington, Scholars, and Booklovers

There are at least two different ways of expressing the opening of the Huntington library as a public institution, because it was located in two different locations.

The Huntington library was first used by Henry E. Huntington, as a private library inside his house. In 1919, the library was founded, designed, and built in San Marino, California, and completed in 1920. Before the San Marino library was built, Huntington lived in a mansion in New York City, where he had his private library and collected books, art, plants and rare manuscripts, while the San Marino building was constructed. Huntington collected books and artwork for his own personal collection, and his own reading pleasure. Since the library, in New York, was Huntington's private library inside his mansion, it was not open to the public. In the beginning, Huntington's library had very limited access in New York, and in San Marino. In 1915, Huntington's library became famous in the academic world. The newspaper covered some of his purchases, which led the public to be curious about his collection. Scholars asked Huntington if they could look at items in his collection for research purposes. Huntington agreed to let scholars view his materials, and was interested in their research conclusions. Since more scholars were asking him to view the library, Huntington allowed his library collection to be visited on a registration basis. However, the scholars could view an item from the collection only while Huntington was present. Scholars were seeking Huntington's permission to use his rare books and manuscripts for study. Huntington allowed scholars to access the library, and invited them into his New York mansion, where the books were first held. However, the number of scholars increased. Huntington decided to add a large table next to his desk so they could view items in his collection (Bernal, 72). Scholars from prestigious colleges (Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Wellesley) came to use books that were for their research in their field. It does not appear that the scholars were charged a fee to look at the materials, since many of them traveled far to get to Huntington's house. Huntington allowed his staff to mount small exhibitions and open the grounds to visitors on a limited basis (Bernal, p. 73). Huntington was very overprotective of his collection; he refused to send any manuscripts to scholars through the mail. Scholars who could not travel could receive a photocopy of any document. Many of Huntington's staff answered questions about his collection from scholars everywhere.  

Therefore, for Huntington the library was considered a private library room. For scholars, it was a research library.It is not clear as to whether the regular public were allowed to visit the early Huntington library for free in 1925. According to Thorpe’s Henry Edwards Huntington: A Brief Biography, the public was able to view Huntington’s collection if they were interested: book lovers came to see his collection, and he enjoyed showing them anything they were interested in seeing; Huntington became known as "The Prince of Book Collectors" and his collection as "the greatest private library in the world" (Thorpe, p. 31). In this case, it appears that the early Huntington library was a private library that could be accessed to anyone interested in learning, including scholars who were conducting advanced research. According to Peggy Park Bernal’s book The Huntington: Library, Art Collections, Botanical Gardens, the library officially opened to scholars in 1925 and about fifty scholars used the collections over the course of one year (p. 15). It appears that after the library was opened to the public more researchers were able to view the materials. The main purpose of the institution is to provide the advancement of learning.

 So, the earliest patrons were scholars, who wanted to study early books and manuscripts for their research projects, as well as booklovers who wanted to observer the collection, and Huntington who enjoyed reading. With all the requests, Huntington decided to make his library accessible for the public. Although Huntington allowed many scholars to use his resources inside his private library, he did not make the facility an institution until after his death. In other words, Huntington layed out specific plans for the use of his collection after his death. He wanted the library to be used as research institution to serve scholars. Huntington's "deed of trust" established the guidelines for the Huntington institution. Therefore, before the Huntington library became a public institution, the library was a reading room for scholars. There is no indication whether or not the scholars knew how to handle these old artifacts carefully. However, since Huntington liked to read the books he collected we can assume that the scholars were handling early manuscripts like regular books.

The Huntington Library officially opened to scholars and the public in 1925. In one year, about fifty scholars used the collections, over time. The first scholar-patron to use the collection was a historian for the American frontier, named Fredrick Jackson Turner. He was in "long-term residence, which is a tradition that started as Huntington's fellowship program in support of research (Zeidberg, p. 16). Many scholars had to register to use the collections, and this was a way to keep track of how many people used the collection. Almost 600 scholars were registered to use the collection from 1946 to 1947. Today, more than 2,000 scholars visiting the Huntington for research. The people that Huntington targets are scholars who are doing advanced research in the arts and sciences field of study. Huntington's principal areas of collecting is in printing history, the history of science, British and American history and literature, and the history of California and the West (Zeidberg, p. 17

Huntington's Visitors (See Staff and Operations post)

As mentioned, Fredrick Turner was the first scholar to be resident to the Huntington Library. He is an example of the type of patron that had first access to the library. He grew up in a white, middle class family and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1884. He obtains a Ph.D in history from Johns Hopkins University in 1890, and became a professor of history at Wisconsin for a few years, and then Harvard. Therefore, well educated people were allowed to attend the early Huntington library. In the early 1900s, more educated people of Turner's caliber were white, middle-class people, because they were developers and researchers. Many immigrants migrated in San Francisco during this time, and they were not necessarily educated individuals.  Therefore, the Huntington private library was a white middle class institution, only because a few brilliant people were allowed to attend the library for research, under Huntington’s watch.

In the early Huntington library there were few frequent visitors:

Sir Joseph Duveen

• Primary source for art objects

Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach

• Primary source for manuscripts and rare books

Homer L. Ferguson

• President of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Huntington enterprise (Bernal, p. 12).

Libraries Origins

The Huntington library originated with its owner, Henry Edwards Huntington, who devoted his attention to book and art, and garden collecting. The Huntington began as a private home library that was later transformed into a research library.

Henry Edwards Huntington

Henry E. Huntington was born in Oneonta, New York, in 1850. He was the son of a white, middle-class family; his father owned a hardware store and a dry goods business. In Oneonta, Huntington's father bought a house and a farm, and the Huntington house was always supplied with books. Huntington's family were avid readers; they enjoyed music in the house and they attended church. At age 17, Huntington finished high school, and went to work as a clerk in a local hardware store for two years. After this job, at age twenty, Huntington went to work for his wealthy uncle, Collis P. Huntington, who was one of the owners of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads (Zeidburg p. 7). Collis arranged for Huntington to own half interest in the mill through a loan, and sold the other half to his chief lobbyist, General Richard Franchot. The general then gave the business to his son, who had just graduated from Union College. So, two inexperienced men worked in a partnership together that was financed by their relatives. They faced many troubles, with shipment and buyers payments. In 1873, Huntington married Mary Alice Prentice, and the couple settled into a small home in St. Albans. Together, they had three children, one son, Howard, and three daughters, Clara Leonora, Elizabeth, and Marian Prentice.

In 1874, Franchot and Huntington decided to break up their partnership because they lacked experience. To settle the two partners, Huntington gave away his first library collection to Franchot. His first collection cost 1700 and included more than 100 volumes with recent writer’s works such as: Ruskin, Whittier, Lowell, Dickens, and Scott. The collection also included a rare item: nine volumes of Isaac Disraeli's literary and historical anecdotes. These books were bought to be read and kept in a home library. After Collins death, in 1900, Huntington inherited one-third of Collis's Southern Pacific stock and a part of the estate in about 12 to 15 million. From this, Huntington was seen as a very wealthy man.

When Huntington first visited Southern California, he stayed at the ranch of James de Barth Shorb and his wife. The Shorb ranch was named San Marino, by the family. Huntington was fascinated with the Shorb ranch and the beauty of the San Gabriel Valley, and was certain that there would be an opportunity to make a business in Southern California: “Huntington had great faith in the potential of Southern California to become a major commercial and cultural center, and began immediately to put his plans into effect to develop the area” (Page, p. 2). Huntington was involved with extending the city’s electric street railway lines into two companies: The Los Angeles Railway, operating within the city, and the Pacific Electric Railway’s “Big Red Cars” that provided transportation in urban and rural areas throughout Los Angeles (Page, p. 2). Due to the creation of the electric railway, the city began to grow larger. There were many counties that stretched from Newport Beach to San Fernando. In addition to the railway business, Huntington developed the land and provided utilities for the new population of Southern California. Huntington’s main function was to organize private companies who would provide electricity, gas and water: “At one time, he [Huntington] controlled a total of 23 companies in Southern California, including a number of gas and electric companies such as the Pacific Light and Power Co. and AlhambraWater Co.” (Page, p. 2).

After Shorb died, in 1903 Huntington purchased the Shorb ranch property. In 1903, Huntington purchased the Shorb Ranch, which was located in San Marino, California, and about five hundred acres. He often walked around the grounds thinking about what improvements he wanted to make. He decided to tear down the Shorb house and replace it with a large two-story structure with a spacious attic and full basement (Thorpe, p. 20). Huntington hired an architect named Myron Hunt who would consider his sketches of what he wanted his house to look like. The architect looked at the sketches which appeared to look like a library with a few rooms inside it. Henry Huntington enjoyed the building process and the project was completed in 1910.

After he retired in 1910, he turned over his management of his Pacific Electric Railway, and took more interest into developing his library collection. New developments between 1911 and 1914 he included a Japanese garden and plants. In 1911, Huntington acquired the E. Dwight Church Library, that contained a collection of very rare and unique books such as Franklin's Autobiography, 22 incunabula, 12 Shakespeare folios, 37 Shakespeare quartos, and 1,500 choice early Americana items (Thropre, p.23). Huntington bought many libraries to expand his own collection. Today, the Huntington is known as the greatest research library in the world. It all began with Huntington collecting books and artwork in his New York mansion while his library building and home was being completed in San Marino. The building was completed in 1921 and books were sent from New York to San Marino, their permanent location.

                                                                             

Huntington's ideas for collecting books changed from general collection of popular material of the period, to collecting rare material of importance. He began to do business with the best dealers in New York and Philadelphia. He bought several libraries of books as well as many rare individuals items. Huntington loved to read books, which is his motivation for collecting books. In addition to collecting books, Huntington purchased major art pieces for the walls of his library room. The first was five Beauvais tapestries, that were previously owned by Louis XV, French furniture, silk carpets, and more paintings. He purchased what he personally liked, his own interests. The fact that Edward was collecting books inside his house, suggests that this was the first type of library established: a private, home library. While he was building the library, he collected items and had them sitting in his home, as Thorpe explains:

"Instead of being stacked on chairs and tables and the floor--with the need to move books to provide space for a quest to sit down--his library now came to occupy a whole floor of the house. He had books all around him, and he spent his time reading and sorting, and with the help of his secretary, cataloging his collection. In 1915 it was evident that he needed help, so he hired a librarian: George Watson Cole and a half dozen young librarians as catalogers” (p. 25).

By 1911, Edward was viewed as a big time art collector and often made headlines in the newspapers about his collection. Huntington was first an avid reader of books, then he became a collector of art, collecting rare materials of international importance. Therefore, Huntington’s interest changed and he began to narrow his focus to collecting rare and unique materials from the eighteenth and nineteenth century.  In order to increase his collection, he bought several libraries of books and rare individual items. Edward's first purchase of art was of five Beauvais tapestries, that were previously owned by Louis XV, for 577, 000 (Thorpe, p. 22). He purchased this artwork, simply because he liked them. In 1922, Huntington’s library purchases consisted of the E Dwight Church Library. This library had owned the manuscript of Franklin's Autobiography, and other items. The next few libraries he bought out are: Robert Hoe library ( a private collection, which owned the Guttenberg Bible, on vellum ), and the Bridgewater House Library, which had 12,000 manuscripts, including Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

From a wealthy inheritance and land construction business, Huntington was able to afford to privately build a library near his mansion in San Marino, so he could have close access to rare and interesting materials. Later, Huntington decided to share his library with scholars who asked to view the library’s materials for research purposes. Before his death, Huntington and his second wife, Arabella, signed a deed of trust to transfer their San Marino property and collections to a nonprofit trust and establish a research institution to serve scholars.

Design of Library

Beaux Art/Classicism

In January 1903, Huntington bought San Marino Ranch for $225,000. He tore down the house and built a platial "Beaux-Arts-styled manor" with extended gardens and an enormous library to house his growing collection (Zeidberg, p. 9). The Beaux-Arts architecture was known to be type of design, or an architectural style that was taught the school named Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. This style was popular between 1885 and 1920. This type of architecture uses sculptural decoration with French and Italian designs. This style is also known as classicism, which is a form of Neoclassicism. The design is a combination of classical architecture from ancient Greece and Rome, combined with Renaissance ideas. There is order, symmetry, and elaborate decoration on the building. The buildings were known to be large and were mostly used for public buildings of importance, like museums, libraries, banks, courthouses, and government buildings (Craven, p. 1).
Although, most important buildings used the Beaux Art design, many houses that were elaborate used the same style. Many houses of the period were built between 1885 and 1925, were using this classical architectural design, such as the following house:

Before the library, the area was Huntington's mansion, which suggests that this was the type of design that houses were built during the early 19th century. This French and Italian design was a popular form of architecture, that many Californian architects used to build homes.

Neoclassical

First, Huntington invited an engineer named E.S. Code to build from a sketch of what he wanted the building to look like. Cole began building in a neoclassical style. The Neoclassical architecture are buildings that are modeled after the classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. The features of the design of these buildings include:

• Symmetrical shape
• Tall columns that rise the full height of the building
• Triangular pediment
• Domed roof

The Beaux-Arts architecture combines sculptural decoration with architecture. Sculptures were modeled after Roman goddesses, such as Diana, represent naturalistic pose beside architecture. Just as the library buildings were growing because of the Carnegie grants, the need for librarians in the profession grew, as well as the need to employ architects and carvers to build the library building. There are many details in the building, most of the principal characteristics of Beaus-Arts architecture includes:

• Balconies
• Columns
• Large arches
• Grand stairway
• Large arches
• Constructed with stone

 Carnegie Library Design

Huntington's library design is similar to the Carnegie library design. When the Carnegie libraries were built they were designed in the Beaux-Arts style. This design was based off of the classical elements of Greek and Roman architecture that was popular in Europe in the mid to late 19^th century. The Beaux-Arts style was taught in Paris, France in the 19^th century. Many American architects studied in Paris because there were no true schools of architecture in the United States (Arsornata). Therefore, many American architects borrowed ideas from European designs and were influenced by the classical elements taught in French architectural schools.

  

Below are some Carnegie Library designs which represents the Neoclassical design

 

Layout

The Huntington library was a part of the mansion in its day, so the layout is a combination of library and house design. Today, there are three main parts of the Huntington Library, including the art gallery, library, and botanical gardens. The three roles of the design is to promote research, education and beauty.

Library

The design of the buiding compliments the library's collection of rare books and manuscripts, artwork, and exotic plants. The library is a steeple for research, and its large size indicates that it is the most complete research library in the United States. The library is built to display artwork and exhibitions to the general public, and te large size accommodates the millions of people that visit each year. Today there are 6 million items that take turned being on display in the library. The design of the library also suggests that it is an important center for study and research. The library design represents the early Californian architectural design in the early 1900s. Although, the design mimicks European building structure, it suggests that there was influence from French architecture to be designed in the United States, by American Architects. Many of the artifacts in the Huntington collection include how Southern California developed, and the architecture is one example that represents the history of Southern California.

Today, there are many additions to the library structure, including the Munger Research Center. This center is 90,000 square feet, and is meant for scholars, staff, preservation, conservation, and storage.

Art Gallery

 

Before the Art Gallery, the space was part of the Huntington mansion. There are three separate galleries, which used to be bedrooms for the Huntington family. In the gallery, there is an extensive collection of 18th and 19th century British and French art, as well as American Art from 1690 to 1950. (Huntington Image)

Gardens

There are Botanical gardens that cover 120 acers of land. The gardens consist of Desert Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, and the Chinese garden. Today, the garden provides children and families with exhibits. There is a Children's garden suitable for kids ages 2-7, and a garden conservatory for middle school children.

Roles of the Library

The Huntington library is extremely large, which shows that the library is available to house large amounts of people. There is a large amount of space in the library for many viewers to see the artwork, and library.

Inside

The purpose of the design was to symbolize a person’s elevation by learning. The architecture is simple and welcoming, with a large doorway for the entrance, and a large entry staircase leading up to the books and artwork.  The design suggests that this is a facility for enlightenment and learning. In the photo is a picture of the inside of the Huntington library.  

 The Mausoleum
The Mausoleum is Greek temple built as a dedication to Huntington's wife Arabella, who died before him. It is made out of marble, and overlooks the gardens. The architect is John Russell Pope, who was a distinguished American architect. Pop believed in using the classic circular dome to represent eternal love that Huntington had for Arabella. Pope also designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Huntington and Arebella are buried in the Mausoleum.


The Huntington building has two major functions 1.) It is a display of the the Beaux-Art mansion, which is considered one of the "Gilded Age Mansions of America" (Huntington) and 2.) it represents the lifestyle of the Huntington's. The building was also made to display major works of art for educational purposes.

Perisylar Loggia

The buildings most distinguished architectural feature is the perisylar loggia, which is a staircase that leads up to the upper level of the library. In the halls are framed pictures of Gainsborough, Romney, Reynolds, Van Dyck and many others. There are intricate details of Italian and Spanish renaissance styles, which are carved into the walls, as well.  

The elements of the design are as follows:

• 55,000 square feet
• Italian and Spanish Renaissance tradition of country house architecture
• French tradition
• Represents early 20th century California architecture
• Considered an advanced country house architecture

The east-west hall is where the library is located, which was considered the private part of the house. This part of the house is the most elegant, which included drawing rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, sitting rooms, servants wing, and bathrooms. According to the Huntington website, these rooms were lost when the art gallery opened to the public in 1928, one year after Huntington's death (Huntington). Therefore, the bedrooms are now places for the art and furniture gallery.

On the first floor there is a small library, which was originally used as Huntington's den, where he conducted business with visitors. There was also a large library which was considered a reading room, where Huntington read books from his collection. The small and large drawing rooms were used for entertainment, and the walls were furnished with 18th century French and British art objects and portraits. A dining room was included and used for important functions, such as a dinner party.

The fact that Huntington creates a place that looks European in United States, California, suggests that he was trying to establish himself as a wealthy man, even though he received his wealth from new money. The image of the library, resembles building structures that would be found in Europe, in particular, France. Huntington was considered to be a millionaire, therefore, how would one display their riches or wealth to the public without a name? The design seems to be a reflection of how much Huntington was worth, a display of his wealth can be seen in the architecture design.Huntington's newly built house was a challenge to decorate, because it was built as a palace. Therefore, Huntington's first art purchase was five Beauvais tapestries that were previously owned by Louis XV, for $577,000. In addition to the tapestries, Huntington bought French furniture, silk carpets and paintings that were major works of art. This was a way for Huntington to show his wealth and status In addition, the library is providing materials from Europe and France, so the design is very complementary to the collection of rare manuscripts and printed books. Huntington collected many paintings, and to include them in a modern building would be distracting from the artwork. The library is set in its correct time period, the same period that much of the objects in the collection are dated.

 Architects

The Huntington house was first designed by Cole, but redone by two Los Angeles architects named Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey. It was built during the years 1909 to 1911.

Myron Hunt

 Myron Hunt was an American architect, who developed many landmarks in Southern California. In 1903, he moved to Los Angeles, and joined a partnership with another architect Elmer Grey. Together they designed houses and communities in Southern California in 1906. They developed large projects including: hospitals, schools, churches and hotels. Some of their larger plans includes:

• California Institute of Technology
• Occidental College in Eagle Rock
• Pomona College
• Mission Inn, in Riverside California
• Ambassador Hotel
• Henry Huntington's house in San Marino
• Rose Bowl

 Elmer Grey

The American architect, Elmer Grey was an artist who lived in Pasadena, California. Grey is recognized as one of the pioneers in the new American architecture in the early He designed many landmarks in Southern California in addition to the Huntington Art Gallery:

• Beverly Hills Hotel
• Pasadena Playhouse
• Wattles Mansion

 

Together, Hunt and Grey, in 1911, designed the Huntington beaux-arts mansion, library, and Huntingon's garage, which was used for storing automobile, and were the living quarters for Huntington's staff. Today, the garage is used as an international exhibit space, known as The MaryLou and George Boone Gallery.   The space is use to display materials from other museums and galleries from all over the world (Huntington).